Car mounted brake assemblies are well known in the railway industry. These brake assemblies typically include a brake cylinder, a slack adjuster and a pair of brake beams mounted at each end of the car. A railway vehicle truck arrangement is provided at each end of the brake assembly. Each of the truck arrangements include a bolster and a pair of side frames having a wheel and axle set at each end of each pair of the truck side frames. The brake beams are typically mounted within a channel in the truck side frames of the railway vehicle truck arrangement. The brake beams are actuated by the brake cylinder via a series of levers and linkages. Each of these brake beams have a brake head attachable to each end thereof and each of the brake heads carries a brake shoe thereon. The brake heads are positioned such that during a brake application, the brake shoes engage the railway vehicle wheels causing the railway vehicle to stop.
In the U.S. railway industry, the side frame is fixed to the wheel and axle and the brake beams are secured to the truck side frame. This type of mounting of the brake beams subjects the braking system to a significant amount of shock as the railway vehicle moves along a route. Additionally, due to this type of mounting, occasionally, full contact is not made between the brake shoes and the wheels as the car moves up and down.
This differs from the European railway industry braking system. In the European market, presently used individual braking systems are suspended within the truck arrangement so that the braking system becomes part of the sprung system of the vehicle, giving the braking system more cushion and preventing shock onto the system.
A significant drawback to the systems currently in use in the European market is that these braking systems require the use of such an individual brake unit at each wheel, significantly increasing the cost of the braking system and the cost of maintaining each of these individual units. Another disadvantage is that the use of an individual braking unit at each wheel significantly increases the weight of the carsets, as well as, the energy required to power the railway vehicle.